Chemical engineers at the University of Queensland have developed a membrane technology that lets molecules move through it faster while maintaining, and even improving, separation precision — a combination that has long eluded membrane scientists. The work, described in a peer-reviewed paper published in Science, addresses a fundamental trade-off in industrial separation: the faster molecules travel through a membrane, the harder it becomes to separate them precisely.
Professor Xiwang Zhang, Director of the UQ Dow Centre for Sustainable Engineering Innovation and of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Green Electrochemical Transformation of Carbon Dioxide, said the breakthrough tackles a longstanding challenge in membrane technology. “Allowing molecules to move faster while maintaining exceptional separation precision potentially reduces energy consumption in these industrial processes,” he said.
Industries rely on membranes that can process large volumes of material quickly while allowing only the desired molecules to pass through. According to Zhang, the two requirements have historically pulled in opposite directions. “But the faster molecules move through a membrane, the harder it becomes to separate them precisely,” he said. “Overcoming this trade-off has been one of the biggest challenges in membrane science.”
The Queensland team’s approach involved looking inside the membrane itself, at channels less than one nanometre wide — roughly 100,000 times thinner than a human hair. These channels, which Zhang described as “molecular highways,” are a crucial component of membrane technology, yet they often present frictional and adhesive barriers that slow molecular transport.
Redesigning such tiny structures is difficult, so the researchers asked a different question: rather than changing the size or chemistry of the channels, could they make them dynamic? Their answer was to introduce self-rotating ammonium ions into the nanochannels. According to the team, this dramatically improved molecular transport by converting a once-rigid, static channel into a dynamic transport environment that promotes improved energy transfer and efficient movement.
Zhang likened the effect to a turnstile. “The self-rotating molecules are like a turnstile that help us regulate molecular traffic accurately while keeping molecules moving quickly,” he said. “Essentially we have upgraded the highways so that we get the best of both worlds: speed and selectivity.”
In ethanol and water separation experiments, the researchers demonstrated a tenfold improvement in separation accuracy compared with a standard filtration membrane. The new membrane increased water transport by approximately 44 per cent while reducing ethanol passage by 90 per cent, according to Zhang. The study was an experimental one, and the reported figures come from the team’s own laboratory testing.
The researchers say the next step is to translate the technology into practical applications, including energy-efficient industrial separations, resource recovery, CO2 utilisation and environmental protection. The technology’s promise lies in the energy-intensive nature of industrial processes such as purifying chemicals, recovering valuable resources and producing sustainable fuels, where faster and more precise molecule separation could improve efficiency and sustainability.
The research was published in Science under DOI 10.1126/science.aed8319, with the news release issued by the University of Queensland on 29 October 2026.
Subject of Research: Dynamic nanochannel membranes with self-rotating ammonium ions for faster, more precise molecular separation
Article Title: Supercharged 'molecule highway' could transform industrial processing
Article References: Supercharged 'molecule highway' could transform industrial processing. Original publication (Bibliographic details unavailable.)
Image Credits: AI Generated
DOI: Not provided
Keywords: membrane technology, molecular separation, nanochannels, ammonium ions, University of Queensland, ethanol-water separation, energy efficiency, industrial processing, chemical engineering, Science journal, water transport, selectivity
News Source: Denise Maddox. (October 30, 2026). Self-rotating ions turn nanochannels into supercharged molecule highways for faster, more precise separations. Scienmag.
